ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. tube — the underground
  3. last — finally
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. mate — a friend
  6. charge — electricity
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. tube — a container
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mate — a partner
  11. charge — a price
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. spring — the season
  15. wound — an injury
  16. spring — of water
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. last — final
  20. mate — to breed
  21. last — to go on
  22. charge — in control
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com